One person has died and seven were missing after a landslide overtook a highway construction site on an expressway in central China, local government officials said on Sunday.

Six people were found alive and injuries were reported from Saturday's landslide, officials in Hubei province said in a post on the province's WeChat account, adding they were trying to prevent other disasters in the area as operations continued.

The Ministry of Emergency Management activated a level-four emergency response and sent a working group to the site to guide emergency handling, according to a WeChat post.

The minister of emergency management urged authorities to find out what caused the landslide.

Torrential rains in parts of China over several weeks have led to a number of deadly landslides. Last month in Sichuan province, 19 people were killed in a landslide at a mine, and four died when heavy rainfall in a short period caused landslides.

The government has issued advisories about rain and other natural disasters for local authorities to stay alert and respond quickly. (Reuters)